Diola (Chamaecrista nigricans)

Family: Fabaceae | Edibility: Edible (1/5)

Chamaecrista nigricans is an erect , tropical, woody plant up to 150 cm tall found in Africa. It is usually harvested from the wild for medicinal purposes. Mature leaves of C nigricans are bitter and added to food as an appetizer. Though used as pesticide, the leaves have medicinal purposes as well and used in the treatment of fever, malaria, cough, stomach pain, ulcers, diarrhoea, and worms.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Leaves

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Spring

Flavor & Culinary Uses

flavouring in sauces and other dishes. — The bitter mature leaves are added to food as an appetizer.; The leaves are used for flavouring in sauces and other dishes.

Habitat & North American Range

Waste places, agricultural fields, roadsides and disturbed soil; also found in grassland and wooded savannah, at elevations from sea-level up to 1,200 metres. (Zone 10)